For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt

 

 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where

'Their worm does not die,

And the fire is not quenched.'

"And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where

'Their worm does not die,

And the fire is not quenched.'

"And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- where

'Their worm does not die,

And the fire is not quenched.'

"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

 

- Mark 9:42-50 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise on the third day."  But they did not understand  this saying, and were afraid to ask Him. Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  And he sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."  Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."  But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

 

  "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."  We remember that Jesus is still speaking to those who will be His bishops, teachers, and leaders in His Church (see yesterday's reading, above).  He is teaching them what it means to be great in His kingdom.  My study Bible comments that little ones include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit. 

 

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your eye causes yo to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"   Jesus is still speaking about abuses of power in His Church, what kind of leadership or "greatness" He expects His disciples to have, as those who will be in charge of guidance for the "little ones" in His Church, the ones who will be in their spiritual care.  My study Bible comments that Jesus' repeated references to mutilation are illustrations of decisive action to avoid sin, and is certainly not advocating literal amputation.  It notes also that these are references to harmful relationships that must be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26, 1 Corinthians 5:5).  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 66:24.

"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."  My study Bible says that to be seasoned with fire means being tested to see if one's faith and works are genuine (see 1 Corinthians 3:11-15).  When He says that every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt, Jesus is quoting Leviticus 2:13, in which salt stands for the remembrance of God's covenant with God's people.  Jesus refers to His disciples as salt and light in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16), where He calls them the "salt of the earth."  Salt had a sacrificial significance because of its preservative powers, necessity for life, and ability to give flavor, to which Jesus refers both here and in the Sermon on the Mount (see also Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty.  As the salt of the earth, my study Bible comments, Christians are preservers of God's covenant and give true flavor to the world.  

Jesus makes several references to sacrifice in today's reading.  We know the context of the sacrifices in the temple, and also Jesus' objections to the ways in which the system of animal sacrifices worked in the temple, especially in terms of money and the poor (see the cleansing of the temple at Mark 11:15-18; and His teaching regarding the poor widow, especially in contrast to His teaching on the scribes which immediately precedes it, at Mark 12:39-43).  In today's reading, Jesus teaches His own disciples His notions about power and its use  in His kingdom and, of course, in the Church meant to be a conduit of that Kingdom into the world.  They will be the leaders of the Church, and their leadership must be like His, contrasting significantly with the things He criticizes of the religious leadership in His time.  Jesus' whole ministry, and in particularly His own sacrifice on the Cross which is yet to come at this point in the Gospel narrative, will transform notions of power and how power is connected to sacrifice.   The sacrifices of the temple will come to an end, but Christ will make a once-for-all sacrifice of Himself for all the rest of us, of which we still partake in the Eucharist.  And the sacrifices He is demanding of His own disciples, especially as leaders in His Church, must also be their own.  In today's reading, He demands sacrifices of ourselves that do not literally concern hand or eye or feet, but rather what bad habits and practices we might do using our own capacities -- and that applies in particular to how the "little ones" are treated, or exploited, or abused.  A hand might reach out to grab what does not belong to us.  Let us note that among Jesus' criticism of the scribes at 12:38-40 includes that they "devout widows' houses," among other practices He disparages.  A hand may also reach out to harm, abuse, or exploit a little one, which we most significantly know from more recent scandals in the Church.  Let us remember that when Jesus uses this term, the "little ones," He isn't only speaking of the physically small, such as children, but all those who are to some extent powerless and trusting, without great standing in the world.  These are the vulnerable.  An eye may reach out with lust for someone or something that is not rightfully one's own to lust after or to covet.  A foot may tread where it is unwanted, across boundaries both physical and invisible, that rightly should be respected for other persons.   To hold power in His Church is to be a servant to all, as He said in yesterday's reading (see above):  "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  The sacrifices which Jesus asks of His followers, and especially His future leaders, are those we make which will be tested by the fire of the Holy Spirit that burns the impurities of our own hearts, and seasoned with the salt of our faithful fidelity to Christ.  The sacrifices which He asks for are those that will be demanded in service to Him and to the Body of Christ, to the little ones, which might include our own need for greatness in the eyes of others, the practice of "lording it over" others, and so many more types of sacrifices in the name of our own humility before Christ.  To put it in a modern colloquial vernacular, it is our own "egos" that will tested, that will need to make sacrifices, our habits that flatter or in other ways seemingly enrich ourselves, but at the expense of others, especially those who have no currency, no social clout, the "little ones."  We are asked to befriend such people, to invite those to our table who cannot pay us back (Luke 14:12-14), for the practice of real graciousness and kindness happens this way, figuratively or otherwise.  This is the true test of greatness, the sacrifice of fire and salt He asks of us.  As His followers, we are to be "like Him," for this is the purpose of His mission and the gracious expression of God's love He brings to the world.  Through His love, we each may also realize how rich we are, and what abundance we have to give, in following His teachings on what sacrifice is, and what He wants of us.  And lest we forget His final words in today's reading, this is also the way we will have peace with one another.